Its subsidiaries are principally engaged in property investment and development, brokerage, securities investment and money lending.

The Company is organized into five divisions: property development and trading, which is engaged in property development and sales of properties; property leasing, which is engaged in property rental; money lending, which is engaged in loan financing; listed securities investment and treasury products, which is engaged in listed securities investment and trading, over-the counter trading and structured products, and unlisted securities investment, investment holding and brokerage, which is engaged in unlisted securities investment, trading and brokerage.

On March 13, 2006, the Company acquired 100% equity interest of JadeField Limited. On January 5, 2006, it acquired 70.01% equity interest of Moon Ocean Ltd.

External links

• Company website
• Google financial intelligence tracker

Chan sold the business in 1987 to Lai Sun Garment, controlled by the late billionnaire Lim Por Yen.^[1]

Crocodile Garments originally sold dress shirts before expanding to become the largest chain garment store in Hong Kong. They exported to Japan, Singapore and other Asian Countries. A second line called Cal-Thomas was started in CA, USA. Crocodile emerged as the leading fashion label with the expansion of a woman’s line and children’s line called CrocoKids. At its peak, Crocodile garments was the largest garment chain before the conception of G2000, Giordano, U2 and Bossini in the 1990s.

Crocodile had a long standing dispute over the logo and clothing lines with Lacoste.^[2] Crocodile uses a crocodile logo that faces left while Lacoste uses one that faces right. The two fought for the logo rights in China which was won by Crocodile.

References

External links

• Official Website

The Company is headed by Peter Lam, son of the founder, who also runs the Media Asia Entertainment Group.

History

1997 financial crisis

Lai Sun Development, then already under the management of Peter Lam, paid HK$7 billion for Furama Hotel Enterprises in June 1997.^[2] Lai Sun acquired a 45.42 per cent stake for $3.13 billion, and made a general offer at $33.50 for each remaining shares at a total cost of $6.893 billion.^[3]

While the other Furama Group hotels became part of the hotels division, Lai Sun Hotels, LSD intended to combine the Furama plot with the Ritz Carlton plot, which it already owned, for redevelopment into a prime office block. Then the Asian financial crisis struck, plunging the entire group into distress and forced asset sales.^[4]

The company had geared itself up heavily in order to finance the acquisition at the top of the market. It had taken took on $5 billion in bank loans and issued bonds worth more than $2 billion.^[5] Its value halved in the ensuing months, plunging the company into crisis. In 2000, the parent company commenced restructuring the group operations.^[5] In March 2000, LSD announced that a 65% stake in the Furama would be sold to a 50:50 joint venture between Pidemco, controlled by Temasek Holdings, and AIG for HK$1.88 billion^[6]. As part of the deal, Lai Sun would continue to operate the hotel until its redevelopment, at an annual rental of HK$145 million.^[6] The Furama closed in November, and was demolished in December 2001. Together with CapitaLand, and AIG, LSD formed Bayshore Development Group to develop AIG Tower, a 39-storey commercial office block with a gross floor area of 450,000 square foot (41,800 m²). AIG and CapitaLand each owned 35 per cent, and Lai Sun owns 30 per cent.^[7]

The asset sales to ungear the company continued - debt remained above HK$6 billion as at September 2002, when LSD sold its 32.75 per cent stake in Asia Television Limited (ATV) to its chief executive, Chan Wing-kee, for HK$360 million

Ritz Carlton plot

The plot was held by Diamond String, a 76.57% group-owned entity. In November 2007, it was announced that China Construction Bank would take a 40% stake in the company for a consideration of HK$1.37 billion, while LSD stake would fall to 60%. The project to redevelop the 14,900 sq ft site as an office tower, due to complete in 2011, will be partly occupied by the CCB.^[8][9] The hotel formally closed its doors on 1 January 2008, and has become probably the largest billboard n Hong Kong.

See also

• AIG Tower

References

The word “now” is abbreviated from “Network Of the World”. now TV is currently the largest pay-TV operator in Hong Kong.

History and Establishment

Launched in March 1998, PCCW’s Interactive TV (iTV 互動電視 Pinyin: Hùdòng Diànshì) pay- TV services included a wide range of information and entertainment, such as news, video-on-demand (VOD) , music videos, home-shopping, home-banking and educational content. iTV had some 67,000 subscribers at the end of 2000.

Due to the liberalization of the pay-TV market by the HKSAR government in early July 2000, the then existing duopolists, iTV and i-Cable, were confronted with ferocious competition. With fewer subscribers and hence the decline in the revenue generated from iTV, the interactive television operation was terminated in the final quarter of 2002. now Broadband pay-TV service was officially launched in September 2003 with 23 channels under the same umbrella company PCCW; iTV is thus commonly viewed as the predecessor of now TV.

now TV is owned by PCCW.

In December 2005, now TV introduced a technology with connection speed up to 18 megabits per second (Mbit/s). At least 75% of the service area will be offered a service running up to 8Mbit/s. In addition, Video-On-Demand services were launched in January 2006.

Now TV subscribers currently have access to 136 channels.

Chronology

• March 1998 Hong Kong Telecom commercially launched iTV
• July 2000 Liberalisation of the pay-TV market
• Last quarter of 2002 Termination of iTV
• August 2003 now TV was unveiled
• September 2003 now TV was officially launched

Charging schemes

Since each household has to install a special decoder to view the channels, there is an extra deposit and installation for the decoder. However, these charges are waived for Netvigator broadband subscribers. With the decoder, households are able to watch approximately 20 free channels.

For the subscription channels, now uses the pricing model of pay-per-channel basis. There are bundle offers in existence, for given bouquet of channels, but these are less comprehensive than those offered by rivals.

now TV offers a business package (in which there are fewer channels for subscription than household customers) for businesses at a higher price than household subscribers.

With effect 1st September, NOW TV no longer offers STAR Sports or ESPN as stand-alone packages, preferring instead to bundle them in to a single multi-sport package. This has caused wide-spread distress amongst many viewers who view this move as a breach of their commitment contracts that stipulates that upon expiry of channel contracts, contracts are automatically renewed.

The company, to date, has refused to comment on this issue.

Channel Highlights

In the beginning, now TV only operated 23 channels, most of which were in English. In response to competition, it has expanded its repertoire of new channels, adding programming such as the Disney Channel and ESPN. By June 2005, the number of channels grew to more than 70, with an increased number of Cantonese channels.

In 2006, now TV outbid i-Cable for the rights to broadcast English Premier League football in Hong Kong, starting with the 2007-08 season.

now TV currently has the most channels of any pav TV provider in Hong Kong. At present, it offers 21 free channels and 103 pay channels, including 15 audio channels. The total number of channels exceeds 130.

now TV catogorizes the 25 free channels (denoted by asterix*), and the 103 pay channels into 9 groups:

1. Movie/Drama Series - e.g. HBO HiTS (#111), HBO Family (#112), HBO Signature (#114), HBO (#115), Cinemax (#116), STAR Movies (#117), Turner Classic Movies (#119), MGM (#122), Hallmark Channel (#123), China Movie (#134), Mei Ah Movie Channel (#137), STAR Chinese Movies (#139)
2. Travel/Documentary - 10 infotainment channels including 5 Discovery Channels, 3 National Geographic Channels, the The History Channel, and BBC Knowledge and BBC Lifestyle, which provide a spectrum of animal, geographic, scientific, and historical documentaries
3. News/Info - including CNN International (#316), CNN Headline News (#317), Fox News Channel (#318), CNBC (#319), BBC World (#320), Bloomberg Television* (#321), Sky News (#323), Al Jazeera English* (#325), now News (#332), now Business News Channel (#333)
4. Kids - Children channels include 3 Disney channels, 2 Cartoon Network channels, and 2 STAR TV and Nickelodeon channel:
5. Music/Entertainment/Shopping - There are in total 2 Shopping and Gaming Channel, 25 Australian and English Lifestyle, Crime, Fantasy, and Entertainment Channel, 27 Chinese Signature Entertainment, Lifestyle and Music, and 5 Chinese and English Flight Music Channels, including AXN (#512), Fox Crime (#523), Asian Food Channel (#527), STAR World (#528), BBC Entertainment (#529), Zone Reality (#530), E! Entertainment Television (#531), MTV Southeast Asia (#554), Channel [V] International (#555)
6. Sports - A total of 15 sports channels including The Golf Channel (#682), ESPN (#684), STAR Sports (#685), ESPN Plus (#690), Eurosport (#695)
7. Foreign Language - including NHK World TV* (#710), TV5MONDE Asie (#714), GMA Pinoy TV(#720), STAR News Hindi news channel (#795)
8. TVB Pay Vision Special Pack
9. Adult - There are 5 adult channels in addition to AV-on-Demand, including Playboy TV (#904)

On 10 May 2006, now TV re-arranged the channel numbers into a category format, where the first digit of the three-digit channel numbers indicates the programme category.

Languages of channels provided

The majority of its programming is in English, Cantonese or Putonghua, though some programming in Hindi (STAR One), and French (TV5MONDE), is available.

Business Performance and Development

now TV service was launched with 23 channels in September 2003 but was soon expanded to exceed 30 with the addition of sports-related channels and BBC World and the Animax channel, as well as the Cantonese-language Star Chinese Movies and Xing Kong channels. Within four months of launch, now TV had attracted more than 200,000 customers by end-2003.

Although now TV mainly targets high-income viewers, its subscriber numbers have grown sharply. As well as home viewership, the service has been extended to hotel rooms, offices, sports bars and hotels.

According to a report in Ming Pao Finance on 5 October, 2005, the number of subscribers to now TV exceeded 450,000. Per annual reports issued by PCCW, at the end of December 2005 the number of paying subscribers to now TV stood at 549,000 (approximately 61% were paid subscribers, with 31% being free subscribers). These figures compare with totals of 361,000 at end-December 2004 and 269,000 at end-June 2004. Despite the growth in subscribers, now TV was operating at a loss in 2005. By August 2006, now TV had in excess of 654,000 subscribers.

Although NOW TV can claim consistent growth in subscriber numbers, quality of service remains ‘average’ at best. Many viewers report ‘jerky’ TV reception, slow refresh times when changing channels, and picture freezing extending over several minutes at multiple instances during single programming.

Strategy

In early July 2000, the HKSAR government awarded five new pay-TV licences. The new entrants were all relatively seasoned broadcasting companies including Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting, Hong Kong DTV Company, a British broadcaster Elmsdsale, Hong Kong Network TV and Pacific Digital Media HK. The considerable opening of the market sparked intense competition for programming and viewer share, which can be seen by the extensive use of advertising.

To avoid direct competition with the two local digital terrestrial channels - Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) and Asia Television Limited (ATV) - now TV has sought to build up and secure its local pay-TV position by signing long-term contracts with a variety of channels from around the world.

Exclusivity

• On November 15, 2006, nowTV made a knock-out bid, of an estimated HK$1.56 billion, to secure the license to exclusively broadcast football matches of the Barclays English Premier League matches in Hong Kong for three seasons commencing from the 2007/2008 season^[1]. Two years previously, i-Cable had paid an estimated HK$700 million for a three-year contract^[2].
• nowTV announced in January 2006 that a three-year deal was signed with ESPN STAR for the rights to live matches of the UEFA Champions League during the 2006-2009 seasons^[2].
• In December 2006 secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the Euro 2008 football championship by agreeing to pay HK$400 million^[3].
• Playboy TV will become exclusive to now TV from December 1, 2006.

Pricing

i-Cable has been forced to adopt an alternative pricing model for its subscribers. It allows subscribers to pick and choose their own channels, similar to to the pay-by-channel of now. Moreover, from Asia Media in October 2005, now TV claimed that they will not follow i-Cable to minimize monthly charges since they have added new channels and improved the delivery standard, in order to maintain competitiveness. In December 2006, it announced it was instead planning on raising subscription rates after having secured exclusive rights in the ESPN, English league, and Euro 2008^[4].

Awards

At the 2004 Convention of CASBAA (Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia), now TV was awarded “The Chairman’s Award”. CASBAA, representing 120 corporations serving more than 3 billion viewers, acknowledged now TV for its “innovative and proactive marketing of a secure and advanced pay-TV platform and for growing its interactive capability, resulting in a stellar subscriber take-up” on 31 October 2004.

Plans

The company had planned to roll out high-definition television (HDTV), which offers up to four times the picture resolution of standard-definition television, in late-2007. But on 19 July, 2007, it unveiled plans to begin HDTV broadcasts ahead of schedule. Included on the first slate of HDTV programming are 90 English Premier League football games. Subscribers will be required upgrade to a new set-top box with a one-off charge of HK$530, pay an additional HK$38/month for set-top box rental, and an additional HK$68/month over and above the existing charge for the “Mega Sports Pack”. The new service will require a Netvigator broadband connection of at least 11Mps.

Now TV as a Full Length Channel

Now TV (Network of the World) Channel is also seen via satellite in AsiaSat 3s through Pacific Century Matrix. The Channel features sports, adventure, internet and video gaming courtesy of Gamer TV.

Related Services

• now.com.hk

now.com.hk internet content services was launched by PCCW in June 2000 for trial purposes. The website, “now.com.hk” is Hong Kong’s premier broadband service, offering a spectrum of locally relevant content, including news, movies, music, online games, and more. Members can enjoy a large variety of media when accessing the service.

In general, PCCW aims at providing experience of broadband home entertainment, with now.com.hk for personal computer users and now TV for television viewers, in which the latter tailor-makes content for young people.

See also

• IPTV

References

External links

• The official site of now TV - in English
• now.com.hk
• The report from ‘The Standard’ on now TV
• PCCW’s 2005 Interim Result Presentation
• ‘TV’s Possible Future — What’s Smart, What’s Not’, an article by Prof. Gerry Faulhaber, professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
• ‘WHY BROADBAND IS REDEFINING TV’, an article published by BroadcastNow on August 15, 2005
• Hong Kong Annual Reports 2003 - Telecommunications
• TAMWISE issue #02/2005

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_TV

Today ATV is one of two free-to-air broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). It operates eight channels: the 24-hour Home channel, which broadcasts in Cantonese, the 22-hour World channel, which broadcasts primarily in English, the 24-hour satellite channel ATV Home (America), which accessible in North America via satellite in Cantonese, and five digital DMB-T/H channels: the 24-hour news and finance news channel, the 24-hour sports and infotainment channel for man, His TV, the 24-hour lifestyle infotainment channel for woman, Her TV, the 24-hour documentary channel Plus TV, and a two-hour high-definition channel. In 2002, ATV gained approval from China’s State Administration for Radio, Film and Television to beam its two channels to the Guangdong Pearl River Delta region.

ATV has also established a close relationship with Guangdong TV to ensure their stable cooperation in programme productions, advertising and sales.

ATV has received numerous awards for its programmes. One of its successes is the local version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (百萬富翁), a game show originally launched in the United Kingdom in 1998. In 2001, ATV bought the production rights for the Hong Kong market, and subsequently enjoyed an upturn in its viewing figures. TVB responded by producing similar game shows.

Ownership history

Previous ATV logo, which was phased out in October 2007

The predecessor to ATV, which began as a wired radio broadcasting service in 1949.^[1] It launched its subscription based TV service on May 29, 1957.

In 1981, Rediffusion in the UK sold 61% of its shares in RTV to an Australian consortium. In July 1982, a Chinese enterprise called Far East Group (遠東機構), owned by the Chiu family, took a stake in the company, such that Far East Group and the Australian consortium each held 50% of RTV’s shares. The move marked the first time that a Chinese enterprise had played a role in RTV.

The company that operated ATV frequently recorded losses, and in January 1984, following the withdrawal of the Australian enterprise, the Chiu family bought all of the shares.

In August 1987, the shares of ATV were put up for sale. One year later, Asia Television Limited, the Lam family (led by Lim Por Yen) and the New World Group each owned one-third of the shares. At that time, the members of Board of Directors included Deacon Chiu (邱德根), Lim Por Yen and Cheng Yu-tung.

On January 30, 1989, the Chiu family sold its shares of ATV to New World Group and Lai Sun Group (麗新集團) for HK$237.5 million. The New World Group held half of the shares, while the Lam family owned one-third and Lai Sun held one-sixth. At the same time, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) joined as a minority shareholder. As announced by the Board of Directors, the new Chairman was Cheng Yue-tung and the Vice-Chairman was Lim Por Yen. The Administrative Director was Selina Chow.

In November 2002, Lai Sun Development, which was heavily indebted following the HK$7 billion acquisition of the Furama Hotel at the height of the property bubble in 1997, announced that it would sell its 32.75% stake to the company’s chief executive, Chan Wing-kee (陳永棋), for HK$360 million in cash^[2]

In June 2007, Chan, along with Liu Changle (劉長樂), chairman of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited, established a company that later bought most of ATV’s shares. Afterwards, Chan Wing-kei took the post of Administrative Director General. With the change of shareholder, there was innovation in the direction of production, marketing strategy and human resources. One of the significant changes is the increasing purchase of foreign programmes such as the South Korean Drama Autumn In My Heart/Endless Love(藍色生死戀).

Location

For years, ATV was located at 81 Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong. However, the company built a new facility in Tai Po, and moved into that facility in 2007.

Former ATV Building on Broadcast Drive

Former ATV studio building

Current ATV Building in Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po

ATV News gathering car

News Operations

Main article: ATV News

This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

ATV News has a wide and close connection with China and overseas media broadcasters. Additional foreign coverage of news is provided by CNN and CBS. ATV receives CNN transmissions 24 hours a day via satellite from CNN’s home base in Atlanta, USA. Through than 10 news bureaux overseas, global breaking news can be accessed immediately via satellite and the Internet.

To make its news programming more accessible, ATV has established an electronic news site, which provides daily and archived local and international news.

With the recent shift in ownership towards mainland interests, ATV News is now widely considered to be the most biased and Pro-Communist news operation in Hong Kong, losing much of its credibility and viewership as a result^{[citation needed]}.

Programmes and Shows

ATV provides a range of television programmes, including news, infotainment, drama and variety shows. As well as producing its own shows, ATV has acquired popular TV programmes from overseas markets to cater to changing audience tastes. Of note, ATV has bought in popular TV dramas from South Korea and Mainland China for broadcast in prime time.

Programmes from ATV Home

ATV has produced numerous classic TV dramas, including Crocodile Tears (鱷魚淚), Fatherland (大地恩情), The Legendary Fok (霍元甲), Central Affairs I and II and Reincarnated (天蠶變). Recent productions of note include The Pride Of Chao Zhou (我來自潮州), Who is the Winner? (勝者為王), King Of The Gambler (千王之王重出江湖) and The Good Old Days (再見艷陽天).

In recent years, ATV has created and hosted certain large-scale award shows. The most well-known would probably be The Annual Most Popular TV Commercial Awards (十大電視廣告頒獎禮).

Other infotainment programmes like Stories From Afar (尋找他鄉的故事) ranked highly in the Appreciation Index Survey Best Television Awards (香港電視節目欣賞指數), as reflected by a public review.

Some ATV programmes, such as the entertainment news show Hong Kong Today (今日睇真D) and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (百萬富翁), have proved particularly popular, prompting local rival TVB to offer similar fare.

Drama Series

A list of recent drama series produced by ATV:

• 1993: Shanghai Godfather II (再見黃埔灘 II 之再起風雲)
• 1994: Bays Of Being Parents (可憐天下父母心)
• 1994: Beauty Pageant (ATV) (鳳凰傳説)
• 1994: Secret Battle Of The Majesty (君臨天下)
• 1994: Outlaw Hero (法外英雄)
• 1995: Vampire Expert (僵屍道長)
• 1995: Pao Qingtian (包青天之公正廉明)
• 1996: The Little Vagrant Lady (飃零燕)
• 1996: King Of Gamblers (千王之王重出江湖)
• 1996: Vampire Expert II (僵屍道長II)
• 1996: Tales From The Dorms (坊間故事之甘戴綠頭巾)
• 1996: The Little Vagrant Lady II (飃零燕 II 之孤星淚)
• 1997: Year Of Chameleon (97 變色龍)
• 1997: Coincidentally (等著你回來)
• 1997: Pride Of Chaozhou (我來自潮州)
• 1997: Gold Rush (著數一族)
• 1998: Thou Shalt Not Cheat (呆佬賀壽)
• 1998: Heroine Of The Yangs (穆桂英大破天門陣)
• 1998: Heroine Of The Yangs II (穆桂英 II 十二寡婦征西)
• 1998: I Come From Guangzhou (我來自廣州)
• 1998: My Date with a Vampire (我和殭屍有個約會)
• 1999: Ten Tigers Of Guangdong (廣東十虎)
• 1999: Flaming Brothers (縱橫四海)
• 2000: My Date with a Vampire 2 (我和殭屍有個約會II)
• 2000: Showbiz Tycoon
• 2001: To Where He Belongs
• 2001: Healing Hearts (俠骨仁心)
• 2002: Mission In Trouble
• 2004: Asian Heroes
• 2004: My Date with a Vampire 3 - the Eternal Legend (我和殭屍有個約會III之永恆國度)
• 2006: Walled Village
• 2006: Relentless Justice (AKA No Turning Back)
• 2008: Flaming Butterfly (火蝴蝶)

Programmes from ATV World

ATV World is one of two English-language channels that broadcast in Hong Kong. It offers a variety of programmes, mostly from the United States, ranging from popular serial dramas and films to documentaries and educational shows. Among the shows it has aired are Ally McBeal (甜心俏佳人), Survivor (生還者), Smallville (超人前傳), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (滅罪鑑證科), Elizabeth I (伊利沙伯一世傳奇), CSI: Miami (鑑證行動組), Cold Case (鐵證懸案), CSI: NY (鑑證紐約), Grey’s Anatomy (醫人當自強), The Closer (真相追擊), Doctor Who (異世奇人) and Ghost Whisperer (靈感應)as well as the talk show Late Show with David Letterman (大衛牙擦騷). Arts and sports programming are also offered (e.g. local horse racing, in Chinese 賽馬直擊). Mandarin and Korean programmes are available on ATV World at off-peak hours.

ATV World’s flagship English news programme is the “Main News and Weather Report at 7:30″ provided under the collective effort of ATV News.

Given its focus on English-language programming in a predominantly Cantonese-speaking market, ATV World carries relatively little advertising and is subsidised by ATV Home. Both free-to-air television companies in Hong Kong are required by the government to provide an English-language service. In the face of competition from TVB Pearl, ATV World has in recent years switched focus from dramas and movies to documentaries and natural history shows, likely because such programming is less expensive to acquire.

ATV Training Institute

Asia Television Training Institute was founded to train people who are interested in joining the television industry. There are four faculties including television production, television artwork, television talent and technical production. Some of the graduates are offered work at ATV.

License

ATV recently had its license renewed for another 12 years. Under the terms of the licence renewal, the Broadcasting Authority required that ATV World provide bilingual subtitles on news, weather and current affairs shows, educational shows and emergency announcements, beginning in December 2004. The company was also required to provide more cultural and arts shows.

Major competitor

TVB was the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong, and was the initial driving force for the then RTV to switch to free wireless broadcasting from paid cable. It was established in 1967. The Group has now grown to a size of about 5,000, including contract artists and staff in overseas subsidiary companies. The viewership of TVB is usually much higher than that of ATV. TVB has an overwhelming advantage over ATV, mostly due to the entrenched viewing habits of the population — the company has most local music stars under contract and its Cantonese-language service provides a steady stream of soap operas and undemanding entertainment programming.

Actor Crossovers

TVB is known to typecast their performers, some will always lead and some will always play in second or third place positions. For this reasons, certain actors will leave TVB for ATV in hopes of better opportunities, even though in most cases, the crossover will mean a virtual end of an actor’s career. The majority of the leading roles are actually given to veteran TVB actors. While some veteran TVB actors merely switch sides because their contract ended, some joined because they’re offered better compensation and positions to veteran TVB actors. There were several known incidents where TVB had certain dramas planned and were forced to cancel or rewrite scripts because the star(s) of the role left for other opportunities and vice versa. While TVB also acquired ATV actors, the cross over is higher in frequency with TVB actors to ATV.

Current Stars

• Jaclyn Chu
• Kenneth Chan
• Pinky Cheung
• Hawick Lau - formerly TVB
• Gilbert Lam
• Jin Ling
• Teresa Mak Ka-ki
• William Chak
• Judy Tsang
• Derek To
• Karen Chan
• William Chow (actor)
• Lo Hoi Pang - formerly TVB
• Joyce Chen (actress) - formerly TVB
• Cynthia Ho
• Choi Kwok Wai
• Lulu Ng
• Nic Yan
• Kitty Wang
• Law Shek Yin
• Daryna Shevchenko
• Jerry Leung
• Wong Oi Yiu
• Chun Kai Wai
• Faye Tung
• Lam Wai - formerly TVB
• Baby Bo
• Billy Lau Nam Kwing - formerly TVB
• Bonnie Wong
• Idea Ng
• Huang Li Mei
• Amiko Wong
• Tsang Wai Ming
• Jessica Lee (actress)
• Philip Keung
• Cheng Shu Fung
• Kung To
• Kwan Wai Lun
• Fiona Yuen - formerly TVB
• Winnie Shum - formerly TVB
• Angel Ho - formerly TVB
• Amy Fan - formerly TVB

Past ATV Stars

• Valerie Chow - no longer an actress
• Eddy Ko 1990-2000; return to TVB
• Michael Tao - 1999-2004; return to TVB
• Gallen Lo - 1983-1984; moved over to TVB
• Patricia Liu - formerly from TVB
• Annie Man - 1993-1999; moved over to TVB
• Michelle Ye 2005-?; moved over from [[TVB
• Thomas Lam
• Claire Yiu 1998-2004; moved over to [[TVB
• Lydia Sum 1990s; returned to TVB
• Sheren Tang 1995-1996; returned to TVB

Criticism

In recent years, viewing figures for ATV Home have fallen sharply, as the TV station has begun to cater more to the interests of the mainland Chinese audience, who can now legally receive the channel. Some Hong Kong viewers have complained that programmes aired on ATV Home are "old-fashioned" and not in tune with the preferences of the Hong Kong TV audience.

Moreover, news programmes broadcast by ATV are deemed by some observers to have taken on a pro-Beijing bias, reporting news involving pro-democracy political forces in Hong Kong in a negative light. (A short talk show on current affairs that airs after the six o'clock news frequently invites pro-Beijing advocates to air their views, often praising the PRC's policies and criticising pro-democratic parties, especially when these parties invoke a demonstration. There have since been other pro-democratic guests, but this does not balance out the pro-Beijing bias). TVB's news programming has been similarly criticised for its "pro-establishment" stance. Although the Hong Kong media has freedom of speech, self-censorship is commonly practised at media organisations whose owners have business interests in mainland China. A shift in ownership of ATV in mid-2006 sparked concern that ATV would become even more pro-Beijing.

For example, the pro-democracy July 1 marches usually makes the headline news on TVB, but ATV usually makes the pro-Beijing counter protests the headline news. ATV also attempts to dilute the pro-democracy message of the marches by saying the participants have different messages.

See also

• Media in Hong Kong
• List of Hong Kong companies
• Television Broadcasts Limited - rival broadcaster

References

External links

• Official Site
• Broadcast Authority

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Television

Main business

PCCW Shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

Products and services offered by PCCW include^[2]:

• Telecommunications services
  • Landline telecommunications
  • Mobile telecommunications - PCCW Mobile
  • Broadband internet - Netvigator, Netvigator Everywhere, PCCW Wi-Fi
• Television and Media Content
  • now TV
  • now.com.hk
  • Temporary ownership of the following Hong Kong’s digital terrestrial TV channels (through a 50/50 joint-venture between now TV and i-Cable):
    • News & Business Channel (operate by aTV)
    • His TV (operate by aTV)
    • Her TV (operate by aTV)
    • Plus TV (operate by aTV)
    • HD Channel (operate by aTV)
    • J2 (operate by TVB)
    • Interactive Information Channel (operate by TVB)
    • HD Jade (operate by TVB)
• IT Services and BPO - PCCW Solutions, formerly Unihub, formerly PCCW Business eSolutions
• Infrastructure - Cascade, Ltd.^[3]

History

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PCCW was formed by Richard Li Tzar Kai, the younger son of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing. Formerly Pacific Century Development, it was an investment holding company. The company’s English name was changed from “Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited” to “PCCW Limited” on 9 August 2002.

It then won a controversial land deal, acquiring valuable waterfront real estate from the government without any public auction bids.^{[citation needed]} Many in Hong Kong cried cronyism,^{[citation needed]} as Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee Hwa gave away the land to his new high-tech residential and commercial venture called Cyberport.^{[citation needed]}

PCCW acquired Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) in August 2000, which was formerly known as the Hong Kong Telephone Company (founded in 1925).^{[citation needed]} Initially, HKT owner Cable & Wireless entertained a bid from Singapore Telecommunications, but there was local concern about a Singapore company owning the largest Hong Kong telephone system.^{[citation needed]} PCCW entered the scene and offered Cable and Wireless PCCW stock and US$11 billion in bank loans.^{[citation needed]}

The acquisition vaulted PCCW from a small 1990s dot-com holdings company to one of the largest corporations in Hong Kong. PCCW is now also the leading Internet service provider in Hong Kong,^{[citation needed]} using the Netvigator brand for dialup modem and DSL service.

PCCW has been the object of much scorn in Hong Kong as a result of the HKT purchase.^{[citation needed]} In 2003 the company’s stock price was down 96 percent from its 2000 peak.^{[citation needed]} In the face of challenges due to debt, intense local telecoms competition and a struggling international joint venture Reach (50/50 owned by PCCW and Telstra), PCCW was the worst-performing blue chip on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) in 2002 and 2003.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Cable and Wireless finished cashing in all the stock from the 14.7 percent stake it had in PCCW. Worth US$5 billion at the time of the 2000 acquisition of HKT, the stock sales yielded only $1.9 billion in the end.

Richard Li gave up his spot as PCCW’s chief executive officer in July 2003 but remained as chairman and executive director. Jack So, who left his chairman position at Hong Kong subway operator MTR Corporation Limited, took up the job of group managing director at PCCW on 25 July 2003.

PCCW chairman Richard Li has agreed to sell his indirectly held 22.66 percent stake in PCCW on 11 July 2006 to Fiorlatte Ltd, a new startup company wholly owned by Francis Leung Pak-to, for a total consideration of HK$9.16 billion. In turn, Francis Leung Pak-to has agreed to sell an 8% stake in PCCW to Telefónica for 323 million euros.^{[citation needed]}

Effective 10 June 2008, PCCW’s stock is no longer a constituent the Hang Seng Index (HSI).^[4] PCCW had joined the index on 9 August 2000.^[5]

Purported Cable & Wireless takeover bid

News report from the Sunday Times on 6 February 2003 revealed that PCCW made a preliminary takeover approach to Cable & Wireless on December 2002 as the British company’s share languished near record lows.^[6]

Li told the Sunday Times newspaper that PCCW would not launch a hostile bid for C&W but that the two companies could work together to enhance shareholders’ value.

The Times quoted Li as saying that he was planning to try again that week with a two billion pound (US$3.27 billion) bid for C&W. Following the news report, PCCW issued a statement through the Hong Kong stock exchange on 6 February 2003 morning saying it had not made a formal offer for C&W and was not in takeover talks with the company. Later in the day, in London and Hong Kong, PCCW issued statements saying it had made a preliminary takeover approach to C&W in a letter at the end of 2002.

PCCW apologised on 10 February 2003 for making what were seen by some in the market as contradictory statements. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange demanded an explanation from PCCW after noting discrepancies between the two statements regarding its approach to C&W about a possible bid.

In any case, C&W had rebuffed PCCW’s takeover approach by February 2003.^[7]

Cascade, Ltd.

PCCW announced the formation of wholly owned subsidiary CASCADE Limited in January 2003 and transferred almost a quarter of its total work force to Cascade. Cascade employs more than 3,000 staff as of June 2003.

Cascade provides PCCW’s telecommunications network operations with support and maintenance services. It provides also network infrastructure design, build-out and maintenance services, consulting solutions, customer installation and maintenance services, project management, operating systems development and maintenance and technical support to clients other than PCCW.^[3]

PCCW Solutions (Unihub, Business eSolutions)

PCCW Solutions is the information technology services and business process outsourcing (BPO) division of PCCW. Press releases prior to February 2006 refer to it by the name Unihub.^[8]. Unihib was a re-branding of PCCW’s Business eSolutions division, from 1 September 2003.^[9]

Business eSolutions division formed a venture with China Telecom to provide IT solutions to major business organizations in 2002. This was in addition to PCCW’s PCITC alliance with Sinopec, formed to serve Sinopec plus other players in China’s petrochemical sector. The division also contributed to the new Hong Kong Identity Card system in 2003.^[8]

In early 2003, Business eSolutions entered a contract to provide services for Bank of China’s credit-card back office processing system in China.^{[citation needed]} It also extended a 2002 enterprise resource planning (ERP) project into more provinces for China Mobile and completed the flight information display system (FIDS) for Xiamen Airport, and a human resource management and financial management system for the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.^{[citation needed]}

Education

The PCCW foundation has provided sponsorship for local data network service for the Internet2 project initiated by the Joint Universities Computer Center (JUCC). The project enables staff and students at local universities to connect and exchange with Internet2 universities all over the world in researching the next generation of networking technologies.^[10]

The foundation also supports the Workplace English Campaign and other education-related initiatives, such as annual scholarships for top students nominated by local universities.

Community service

PCCW provides communications services for a variety of social service schemes. This includes support for students, single parents, the unemployed, distressed people and the elderly who benefit from counseling hotlines, info-line services for Medilink and networks to help find employment.^[10]

Incident with YouTube

On 24 February 2008, PCCW was blamed for blocking users around the world from accessing the video sharing website YouTube. While attempting to block internet users in Pakistan, following orders from the Pakistani Government, PCCW accidentally blocked all of their users from the website. The blockage spread worldwide via incorrect BGP routing tables published by PCCW, coming originally from PieNet in Pakistan.^[11][12]

Operations

PCCW’s businesses have a presence in the following countries and territories^[13]:

See also

• Now TV
• Netvigator

References

External links

• PCCW Homepage
• PCCW Mobile
• Netvigator (Internet Services)
• now TV (Digital TV Services)
• Yahoo! - PCCW Limited Company Profile

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Century_Cyberworks

During the days of “Super Netvigator”, the company offered iTV, an interactive movie television network that allowed users to watch movies on their TV screen by demand. The service ended in 2002, but in recent years, a successor and competitor to Cable TV, Now TV, was launched.

History

Netvigator dial-up Internet Access Service was first launched under Hongkong Telecom IMS Limited under the directorship of Dr. William Lo on April 18, 1996. It acquired another ISP, hkstar, with all the infrastructure and clients. Their broadband service, under the brand name “Super Netvigator” was launched as a value-added service of the InteractiveTV (iTV) in May 1998. Subsequently it launched their standalone broadband service (directly connected to PC without iTV), under the service name “Netvigator 1.5M Ultraline”, in July 1999.

NETVIGATOR Wireless Modem

In 2008, Netvigator launched NETVIGATOR Wireless Modem a wireless modem with router and modem capabilities, in Hong Kong. Its pre-configured wireless secure connection function prevents hackers from infiltrating the network and hence users’ online safety is assured and under control.

Meanwhile, NETVIGATOR also provide one-stop customer service to users – from configuring computer for wireless technical support to lifetime maintenance.

Benefits (Source: NETVIGATOR Wireless Modem Promotion booklet)

• Surf the net wirelessly anywhere at home
• Save space with the 3-in-1 Wi-Fi modem and router
• Multiple users can go online at the same time
• Enjoy real peace of mind with a password-protected auto-login safeguard
• Full customer service and technical support
• Leave everything to our one-stop installation service
• Always-on

NETVIGATOR Value Added Services in Hong Kong

Other than Broadband connection service, Netvigator also provides a range of value added services to Hong Kong users. Customers can apply these services via Retail Shop Level, Sales person, Sales hotline or online (only eligible to existing Netvigator users).

• NETMail Web-based e-mail with 1GB mail storage and 1GB file storage.
• PC Guard Comprehensive computer protection service effectively safeguards the computer and privacy. The website also provids a free virus scanner.
• MailGuard Plus Full protection of Netvigator mailbox. Virus and Spam of incoming e-mails will be filtered from server level.
• Parental Control Parents can safeguard their kids via features like content filtering and access time control.
• NETSee Included NETMeet and NETWatch.
• Snaap! Cross platform (TV, Computer, Fixed Line and MObile) multimedia sharing service. Can share photos and videos anytime and any where.
• Moov Provided Chinese and English songs prelisten and MV preview.
• now.com.hk An online entertainment platform provided news, movies, TVB dramas replay, games and other fashion-related contents.

Other Services provided by Netvigator

now TV: An IPTV service

United Kingdom Operation

Trading initially under the Netvigator brand, with the company name UK Broadband, PCCW entered the UK broadband market with wireless broadband (independent of phone lines) in mid 2004, starting with the Thames Valley. The brand migrated to Now Broadband during 2005, and the London market was opened for business. At the same time the support call centre for the UK was moved from Hong Kong to an outsourcer in the north of England. Now uses TD-CDMA to provide its broadband using two modems one built by IP Wireless and one by UT Starcom, it is available in 3 speeds 256k, 512k and 1mb with 128k and 256k upstream respectively.

An additional service offering is a card that fits into the PCMCIA/Cardbus slot in a laptop and is intended to provide roaming broadband access.

In September 2007, Now Broadband sent out letters under the lasered signature of Keith Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer, to selected areas in the UK cancelling the service, citing “limitations not apparent when we launched the service in your area” as the reason for closing certain radio sites. The customer service team instead cites unprofitability of those closing radio sites, but also says that Now Broadband is “not currently accepting new customers in the UK”, and that it is also “Assessing new technology”. The cancellation has a notice substantially greater than the 30 contractual days, and also an offer of a £50 goodwill payment (with terms and conditions).

Rivals

• Hong Kong Broadband Network
• I-CABLE Communications
• Hutchison Global Communications

External links

• Netvigator homepage (in Traditional Chinese)
• Netvigator homepage (in English)
• PCCW homepage
• now wireless broadband
• UK Broadband corporate details

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netvigator

Today ATV is one of two free-to-air broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being its arch-rival Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB). It operates eight channels: the 24-hour Home channel, which broadcasts in Cantonese, the 22-hour World channel, which broadcasts primarily in English, the 24-hour satellite channel ATV Home (America), which accessible in North America via satellite in Cantonese, and five digital DMB-T/H channels: the 24-hour news and finance news channel, the 24-hour sports and infotainment channel for man, His TV, the 24-hour lifestyle infotainment channel for woman, Her TV, the 24-hour documentary channel Plus TV, and a two-hour high-definition channel. In 2002, ATV gained approval from China’s State Administration for Radio, Film and Television to beam its two channels to the Guangdong Pearl River Delta region.

ATV has also established a close relationship with Guangdong TV to ensure their stable cooperation in programme productions, advertising and sales.

ATV has received numerous awards for its programmes. One of its successes is the local version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (百萬富翁), a game show originally launched in the United Kingdom in 1998. In 2001, ATV bought the production rights for the Hong Kong market, and subsequently enjoyed an upturn in its viewing figures. TVB responded by producing similar game shows.

Ownership history

Previous ATV logo, which was phased out in October 2007

The predecessor to ATV, which began as a wired radio broadcasting service in 1949.^[1] It launched its subscription based TV service on May 29, 1957.

In 1981, Rediffusion in the UK sold 61% of its shares in RTV to an Australian consortium. In July 1982, a Chinese enterprise called Far East Group (遠東機構), owned by the Chiu family, took a stake in the company, such that Far East Group and the Australian consortium each held 50% of RTV’s shares. The move marked the first time that a Chinese enterprise had played a role in RTV.

The company that operated ATV frequently recorded losses, and in January 1984, following the withdrawal of the Australian enterprise, the Chiu family bought all of the shares.

In August 1987, the shares of ATV were put up for sale. One year later, Asia Television Limited, the Lam family (led by Lim Por Yen) and the New World Group each owned one-third of the shares. At that time, the members of Board of Directors included Deacon Chiu (邱德根), Lim Por Yen and Cheng Yu-tung.

On January 30, 1989, the Chiu family sold its shares of ATV to New World Group and Lai Sun Group (麗新集團) for HK$237.5 million. The New World Group held half of the shares, while the Lam family owned one-third and Lai Sun held one-sixth. At the same time, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM) joined as a minority shareholder. As announced by the Board of Directors, the new Chairman was Cheng Yue-tung and the Vice-Chairman was Lim Por Yen. The Administrative Director was Selina Chow.

In November 2002, Lai Sun Development, which was heavily indebted following the HK$7 billion acquisition of the Furama Hotel at the height of the property bubble in 1997, announced that it would sell its 32.75% stake to the company’s chief executive, Chan Wing-kee (陳永棋), for HK$360 million in cash^[2]

In June 2007, Chan, along with Liu Changle (劉長樂), chairman of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited, established a company that later bought most of ATV’s shares. Afterwards, Chan Wing-kei took the post of Administrative Director General. With the change of shareholder, there was innovation in the direction of production, marketing strategy and human resources. One of the significant changes is the increasing purchase of foreign programmes such as the South Korean Drama Autumn In My Heart/Endless Love(藍色生死戀).

Location

For years, ATV was located at 81 Broadcast Drive in Kowloon Tong. However, the company built a new facility in Tai Po, and moved into that facility in 2007.

Former ATV Building on Broadcast Drive

Former ATV studio building

Current ATV Building in Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po

ATV News gathering car

News Operations

Main article: ATV News

This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

ATV News has a wide and close connection with China and overseas media broadcasters. Additional foreign coverage of news is provided by CNN and CBS. ATV receives CNN transmissions 24 hours a day via satellite from CNN’s home base in Atlanta, USA. Through than 10 news bureaux overseas, global breaking news can be accessed immediately via satellite and the Internet.

To make its news programming more accessible, ATV has established an electronic news site, which provides daily and archived local and international news.

With the recent shift in ownership towards mainland interests, ATV News is now widely considered to be the most biased and Pro-Communist news operation in Hong Kong, losing much of its credibility and viewership as a result^{[citation needed]}.

Programmes and Shows

ATV provides a range of television programmes, including news, infotainment, drama and variety shows. As well as producing its own shows, ATV has acquired popular TV programmes from overseas markets to cater to changing audience tastes. Of note, ATV has bought in popular TV dramas from South Korea and Mainland China for broadcast in prime time.

Programmes from ATV Home

ATV has produced numerous classic TV dramas, including Crocodile Tears (鱷魚淚), Fatherland (大地恩情), The Legendary Fok (霍元甲), Central Affairs I and II and Reincarnated (天蠶變). Recent productions of note include The Pride Of Chao Zhou (我來自潮州), Who is the Winner? (勝者為王), King Of The Gambler (千王之王重出江湖) and The Good Old Days (再見艷陽天).

In recent years, ATV has created and hosted certain large-scale award shows. The most well-known would probably be The Annual Most Popular TV Commercial Awards (十大電視廣告頒獎禮).

Other infotainment programmes like Stories From Afar (尋找他鄉的故事) ranked highly in the Appreciation Index Survey Best Television Awards (香港電視節目欣賞指數), as reflected by a public review.

Some ATV programmes, such as the entertainment news show Hong Kong Today (今日睇真D) and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (百萬富翁), have proved particularly popular, prompting local rival TVB to offer similar fare.

Drama Series

A list of recent drama series produced by ATV:

• 1993: Shanghai Godfather II (再見黃埔灘 II 之再起風雲)
• 1994: Bays Of Being Parents (可憐天下父母心)
• 1994: Beauty Pageant (ATV) (鳳凰傳説)
• 1994: Secret Battle Of The Majesty (君臨天下)
• 1994: Outlaw Hero (法外英雄)
• 1995: Vampire Expert (僵屍道長)
• 1995: Pao Qingtian (包青天之公正廉明)
• 1996: The Little Vagrant Lady (飃零燕)
• 1996: King Of Gamblers (千王之王重出江湖)
• 1996: Vampire Expert II (僵屍道長II)
• 1996: Tales From The Dorms (坊間故事之甘戴綠頭巾)
• 1996: The Little Vagrant Lady II (飃零燕 II 之孤星淚)
• 1997: Year Of Chameleon (97 變色龍)
• 1997: Coincidentally (等著你回來)
• 1997: Pride Of Chaozhou (我來自潮州)
• 1997: Gold Rush (著數一族)
• 1998: Thou Shalt Not Cheat (呆佬賀壽)
• 1998: Heroine Of The Yangs (穆桂英大破天門陣)
• 1998: Heroine Of The Yangs II (穆桂英 II 十二寡婦征西)
• 1998: I Come From Guangzhou (我來自廣州)
• 1998: My Date with a Vampire (我和殭屍有個約會)
• 1999: Ten Tigers Of Guangdong (廣東十虎)
• 1999: Flaming Brothers (縱橫四海)
• 2000: My Date with a Vampire 2 (我和殭屍有個約會II)
• 2000: Showbiz Tycoon
• 2001: To Where He Belongs
• 2001: Healing Hearts (俠骨仁心)
• 2002: Mission In Trouble
• 2004: Asian Heroes
• 2004: My Date with a Vampire 3 - the Eternal Legend (我和殭屍有個約會III之永恆國度)
• 2006: Walled Village
• 2006: Relentless Justice (AKA No Turning Back)
• 2008: Flaming Butterfly (火蝴蝶)

Programmes from ATV World

ATV World is one of two English-language channels that broadcast in Hong Kong. It offers a variety of programmes, mostly from the United States, ranging from popular serial dramas and films to documentaries and educational shows. Among the shows it has aired are Ally McBeal (甜心俏佳人), Survivor (生還者), Smallville (超人前傳), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (滅罪鑑證科), Elizabeth I (伊利沙伯一世傳奇), CSI: Miami (鑑證行動組), Cold Case (鐵證懸案), CSI: NY (鑑證紐約), Grey’s Anatomy (醫人當自強), The Closer (真相追擊), Doctor Who (異世奇人) and Ghost Whisperer (靈感應)as well as the talk show Late Show with David Letterman (大衛牙擦騷). Arts and sports programming are also offered (e.g. local horse racing, in Chinese 賽馬直擊). Mandarin and Korean programmes are available on ATV World at off-peak hours.

ATV World’s flagship English news programme is the “Main News and Weather Report at 7:30″ provided under the collective effort of ATV News.

Given its focus on English-language programming in a predominantly Cantonese-speaking market, ATV World carries relatively little advertising and is subsidised by ATV Home. Both free-to-air television companies in Hong Kong are required by the government to provide an English-language service. In the face of competition from TVB Pearl, ATV World has in recent years switched focus from dramas and movies to documentaries and natural history shows, likely because such programming is less expensive to acquire.

ATV Training Institute

Asia Television Training Institute was founded to train people who are interested in joining the television industry. There are four faculties including television production, television artwork, television talent and technical production. Some of the graduates are offered work at ATV.

License

ATV recently had its license renewed for another 12 years. Under the terms of the licence renewal, the Broadcasting Authority required that ATV World provide bilingual subtitles on news, weather and current affairs shows, educational shows and emergency announcements, beginning in December 2004. The company was also required to provide more cultural and arts shows.

Major competitor

TVB was the first wireless commercial television station in Hong Kong, and was the initial driving force for the then RTV to switch to free wireless broadcasting from paid cable. It was established in 1967. The Group has now grown to a size of about 5,000, including contract artists and staff in overseas subsidiary companies. The viewership of TVB is usually much higher than that of ATV. TVB has an overwhelming advantage over ATV, mostly due to the entrenched viewing habits of the population — the company has most local music stars under contract and its Cantonese-language service provides a steady stream of soap operas and undemanding entertainment programming.

Actor Crossovers

TVB is known to typecast their performers, some will always lead and some will always play in second or third place positions. For this reasons, certain actors will leave TVB for ATV in hopes of better opportunities, even though in most cases, the crossover will mean a virtual end of an actor’s career. The majority of the leading roles are actually given to veteran TVB actors. While some veteran TVB actors merely switch sides because their contract ended, some joined because they’re offered better compensation and positions to veteran TVB actors. There were several known incidents where TVB had certain dramas planned and were forced to cancel or rewrite scripts because the star(s) of the role left for other opportunities and vice versa. While TVB also acquired ATV actors, the cross over is higher in frequency with TVB actors to ATV.

Current Stars

• Jaclyn Chu
• Kenneth Chan
• Pinky Cheung
• Hawick Lau - formerly TVB
• Gilbert Lam
• Jin Ling
• Teresa Mak Ka-ki
• William Chak
• Judy Tsang
• Derek To
• Karen Chan
• William Chow (actor)
• Lo Hoi Pang - formerly TVB
• Joyce Chen (actress) - formerly TVB
• Cynthia Ho
• Choi Kwok Wai
• Lulu Ng
• Nic Yan
• Kitty Wang
• Law Shek Yin
• Daryna Shevchenko
• Jerry Leung
• Wong Oi Yiu
• Chun Kai Wai
• Faye Tung
• Lam Wai - formerly TVB
• Baby Bo
• Billy Lau Nam Kwing - formerly TVB
• Bonnie Wong
• Idea Ng
• Huang Li Mei
• Amiko Wong
• Tsang Wai Ming
• Jessica Lee (actress)
• Philip Keung
• Cheng Shu Fung
• Kung To
• Kwan Wai Lun
• Fiona Yuen - formerly TVB
• Winnie Shum - formerly TVB
• Angel Ho - formerly TVB
• Amy Fan - formerly TVB

Past ATV Stars

• Valerie Chow - no longer an actress
• Eddy Ko 1990-2000; return to TVB
• Michael Tao - 1999-2004; return to TVB
• Gallen Lo - 1983-1984; moved over to TVB
• Patricia Liu - formerly from TVB
• Annie Man - 1993-1999; moved over to TVB
• Michelle Ye 2005-?; moved over from [[TVB
• Thomas Lam
• Claire Yiu 1998-2004; moved over to [[TVB
• Lydia Sum 1990s; returned to TVB
• Sheren Tang 1995-1996; returned to TVB

Criticism

In recent years, viewing figures for ATV Home have fallen sharply, as the TV station has begun to cater more to the interests of the mainland Chinese audience, who can now legally receive the channel. Some Hong Kong viewers have complained that programmes aired on ATV Home are "old-fashioned" and not in tune with the preferences of the Hong Kong TV audience.

Moreover, news programmes broadcast by ATV are deemed by some observers to have taken on a pro-Beijing bias, reporting news involving pro-democracy political forces in Hong Kong in a negative light. (A short talk show on current affairs that airs after the six o'clock news frequently invites pro-Beijing advocates to air their views, often praising the PRC's policies and criticising pro-democratic parties, especially when these parties invoke a demonstration. There have since been other pro-democratic guests, but this does not balance out the pro-Beijing bias). TVB's news programming has been similarly criticised for its "pro-establishment" stance. Although the Hong Kong media has freedom of speech, self-censorship is commonly practised at media organisations whose owners have business interests in mainland China. A shift in ownership of ATV in mid-2006 sparked concern that ATV would become even more pro-Beijing.

For example, the pro-democracy July 1 marches usually makes the headline news on TVB, but ATV usually makes the pro-Beijing counter protests the headline news. ATV also attempts to dilute the pro-democracy message of the marches by saying the participants have different messages.

See also

• Media in Hong Kong
• List of Hong Kong companies
• Television Broadcasts Limited - rival broadcaster

References

External links

• Official Site
• Broadcast Authority

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Television

History

New Zealand Insurance Life (Bermuda) Limited was acquired and renamed Top Glory Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (TGI) in 1994. In the same year Pacific Century Group became the major shareholder of TGI. The name was changed again in 1999 into Pacific Century Insurance. In July of the same year the Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Limited (PCIHL) was listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.^[2] Pacific Century Insurance Company Limited (PCI) became the subsidiary operating life insurance and other insurance businesses.

On 26 February 2007, the share price of PCI surged 11% before the trading was suspended pending price-sensitive announcement. Three days later, the Belgian and Dutch based Fortis group announced to acquire 50.48% stake in PCI in order to expand into Asia market.

Shareholder information

• Pacific Century Regional Developments Limited 47.9%
• China Insurance Group 11.3%
• Public 40.8%

References

1. ^ PCI Announcement
2. ^ From PCI Official Website

External links

• Official homepage

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Century_Insurance_Holdings_Limited

Companies of the Group

• PCCW Limited (http://www.pccw.com)
• Pacific Century Regional Developments Limited
• Pacific Century Insurance Holdings Limited (http://www.pcihl.com)
• Pacific Century Premium Development Limited (http://www.pcpd.com)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Century_Group